The Amish Acres Arts & Crafts Festival has grown from an art show held in front of Pletcher Furniture Village during Sidewalk Days into a major arts event.

Richard Pletcher has been there from the start. Pletcher and his father, Lavern, visited an Amish tourist community in Lancaster, Pa. in 1957. The elder Pletcher believed that the Amish community in Nappanee had the potential to become a hub for tourism.

Five years later, the Pletchers added an art show to their Sidewalk Days sale.

The event grew and was renamed Village Art Festival and eventually Amish Acres Arts & Crafts Festival.

Pletcher laughs when asked if he’s surprised the festival lasted 50 years.

“I didn’t think I’d last this long,” he says.

Pletcher says one key to the event’s success is that it retained a family-based atmosphere even as it grew to become a nationally recognized event.

He says all of the food is produced locally, which ensures a high level of community involvement and buy-in.

And just as Pletcher’s father involved him in the development of the event, Richard Pletcher makes sure Amish Acres’ festival remains a family affair: Four generations of the Pletcher family now help to organize the festival.

On exhibit

The 50th annual Amish Acres Arts & Crafts Festival takes place from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. today through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at 1600 W. Market St., Nappanee. Admission is $7 for adults and free for children 12 and younger. For more information, call 800-800-4942 or visit amishacres.com.